Origin of Vidya

Vyasa said

I bow to Shiva together with Uma, the ganas and his sons. He is the lord over Pradhana and Purusha and the cause of creation, preservation and destruction. His power has no equal and his glory reaches everywhere. His lordship and mastery are natural to him. He has no beginning, he makes the universe, and he is eternal, auspicious and free of decay. I take refuge in the great-souled Mahadeva Shiva.

Vyasa continued

At the meeting of the Ganga and the Kalindi stands a great holy place, a field of dharma. This is Prayaga within Naimisharanya, the road to Brahma's world. Sages who had mastered themselves and loved the dharma of truth, men of great fortune and energy, were holding a great sacrifice there. Word of it reached the clever disciple of Vedavyasa, the son of Satyavati, and he came. He was famous in all three worlds. He understood good and bad even in the words of the five-faced god, could answer the questions of Brihaspati, and told sweet accounts in charming versions and sections. He was a master storyteller who knew policy and its proper time. This was Suta, the best among those who recite the Puranas. The sages were delighted to see him, honoured him and welcomed him by the rules. He accepted their worship and took the seat set aside for him. These sages of purified selves were eager to hear the old accounts, and they spoke to him with great longing.

The sages said

Romaharshana, you who know everything, best of Shiva's devotees, you have the full meaning of all the Puranas straight from Vyasa. You are a storehouse of wonderful accounts, whose substance is like jewels, and you are the ocean that keeps those jewels. Nothing in the past, present or future, nothing in the three worlds, is unknown to you. It is our good luck that you have come, and our good luck that you honour us. Your visit should not be empty, and you should not leave before doing us some good. So let us hear the sacred and virtuous accounts that are full of knowledge, all the Puranas quickly, and the essence of Vedanta.

Vyasa continued

Hearing these words from the sages versed in the Vedas, Suta answered gently, in auspicious words full of sound counsel.

Suta replied

You have honoured me and urged me on, so why would I not speak properly of the Puranas the rishis revere? I worship Mahadeva, Devi, Skanda, Vinayaka, Nandi and Vyasa, Satyavati's son. Then I will tell you of a supremely sacred Purana, as revered as the Vedas. It is an ocean of knowledge about Shiva and gives both enjoyment and liberation as its fruits. Its words are full of sound counsel and it is adorned with explanations of attachment. In connection with the Shveta kalpa, Vayu narrated it long ago. I will tell you about the different kinds of vidya, the order of the Puranas and where the Puranas came from. Listen.

The fourteen kinds of vidya are the four Vedas, the six Vedangas, mimamsa, nyaya, the Puranas and the Dharmashastras. Add Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gandharvaveda and Arthashastra, and you have eighteen, all following their own paths. Yet the shruti says their original wise maker was the wielder of the trident himself, lord of the whole universe. Wishing to create, he first made the eternal Brahma as his son. So that creation could go forward, Ishvara gave this vidya to Brahma, his eldest. After that he gave the power of preservation to Hari, his second son, who became the saviour even of Brahma. Having received the learning, Vidhatri began to create. Brahma is said to have first produced all the sacred texts and the Puranas, and from his mouths the Vedas came, and all the texts with them. But the people of the earth could not take in their vastness. So at the end of the dvapara yuga, Vishveshvara, whose self is the universe, set Vishnu to shorten them. He took an avatara and walked the earth as Vyasa. In this way, brahmanas, he divides the Vedas in every dvapara yuga, and afterward composes the Puranas and other texts.

In this dvapara yuga he also took the name Krishna Dvaipayana. He was born through Satyavati as fire is born from the arani sticks. He again shortened and arranged the four Vedas, and since he divided the Vedas he is called Vedavyasa. He condensed the Puranas to four hundred thousand shlokas, though in the world of the gods they still run to a hundred crore. A brahmana may know the four Vedas, the Vedangas and the Upanishads, but without the Puranas he does not gain discernment. The Vedas are filled out by the Itihasa and Puranas. The Vedas fear someone of little learning, in case he misleads. A Purana has five marks: sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara and the lives of the dynasties. There are said to be eighteen Puranas, and the sages who know the truth divide them into long and short. In order they are Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva, Bhagavata, Bhavishya, Narada, Markandeya, Agni, Brahmavaivarta, Linga, Varaha, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda. Of these the Shiva is the fourth. It concerns Sharva, who accomplishes every aim. It has a hundred thousand shlokas in twelve samhitas, is grounded in dharma and was composed by Shiva himself. It teaches that people are divided into three varnas by following Shiva's dharma. So whoever seeks liberation should take refuge in Shiva, as even the gods do. There is no other means to emancipation. The text called the Shiva Purana agrees with the Vedas, and I will give you its divisions briefly.

The twelve samhitas are Vidyeshvara, Rudra, Vainayaka, Uma, Matri, Rudraikadasha, Kailasa, Shatarudra, Kotirudra, Sahasrakotirudra, Vayaviya and Dharmasamja. Vidyeshvara has ten thousand shlokas. Rudra, Vainayaka, Uma and Matri have eight thousand each. Rudraikadasha has thirteen thousand, Kailasa six thousand, Shatarudra three thousand and Kotirudra nine thousand, full of every meaning of knowledge. Sahasrakotirudra has eleven thousand, Vayaviya four thousand and Dharmasamja twelve thousand. Together they make a hundred thousand shlokas, the essence of the Vedas, which yield enjoyment and liberation. Vyasa condensed it to twenty-four thousand, about a quarter of the original, and kept seven samhitas: Vidyeshvara, Rudra, Shatarudra, Kotirudra, Uma, Kailasa and Vayaviya. Vidyeshvara has two thousand shlokas, Rudra ten thousand five hundred, Shatarudra two thousand three hundred and fifty, Kotirudra a little over two thousand two hundred, Uma one thousand eight hundred and forty, Kailasa one thousand two hundred and forty, and Vayaviya four thousand. That is the size of the text called the Shiva Purana. The Vayaviya has two parts, and I will speak about it. If a person does not know the Vedas, this excellent text should not be revealed to him, nor to someone without devotion or who does not know the Puranas. A disciple free of malice and devoted to dharma must be tested, and it should go to one devoted to Shiva and living by Shiva's dharma. I bow to the illustrious Vyasa, infinite in energy. The Purana Samhita lives in me by his favour.